Category Archives: Business Tips

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, especially when one has enormous financial commitments. Moreover, if you have cabin fever, it will be compounding any feelings of stagnation as this fresh snowstorm moves in. Many of us are afraid to take a vacation or even lunch breaks. Some of us feel we can’t leave our jobs because of hefty student debt. It’s tempting to approach a certain age or milestone and resign with a sigh, thinking “this is it”.

It doesn’t have to be, however. Even the slightest actions or chance meetings can trigger profound alterations in your life.

Like this:

If you want to move to the country, it helps to take a business with you; something to pay the mortgage while you’re acclimating. This is why the Catskills is bustling with artists, freelancers and business owners. It’s a tourist haven for the arts, products, hospitality, sports and crafts. In three very difficult and monumentally life-changing steps, here’s how it’s done:

Start side business.

Quit full-time job to focus on side business.

Move to country.

Upstate Dispatch’s mission is to help you conquer these three steps, starting with the side business. Here are four essential tips for the young businessperson starting out and the fledgling freelancer.

Pay quarterly estimated taxes. Your employer used to withhold taxes from your periodic salary payments. You are now responsible for paying your taxes instead of your employer with the added bonus that you are now responsible for all of your social security and medicare contributions; as a W2 employee your employer paid half of your social security and medicare contributions. You need to pay quarterly estimated taxes based on your income less your business expenses. Continue reading →